Man Accused Of Murder Found Guilty Of Burglary

August 17, 1985|By Patricia Elich, Staff writer

James Edward Bent, 43, accused of fatally stabbing a man in the chest as he lay sleeping on the sofa in the living room of his trailer home, was found guilty of a much less serious crime Friday in Broward Circuit Court.

Instead of finding Bent guilty of first-degree murder as the prosecution requested, a jury found the defendant guilty of burglarizing a residence, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years.

The victim, Jeffrey Ray Grove of Fort Lauderdale, was killed Nov. 20, 1984, after Bent and two other people went to Grove`s trailer at the Hess Mobile Home Park at 3301 S. Andrews Ave.

Mary Laliberti, 26, and her boyfriend, Michael Thomas Williams, 31, testified that they had met Bent at a local bar and that he agreed to accompany them to Grove`s trailer to pick up some toys for Laliberti`s daughter, who was fathered by Grove.